Government says ready to discuss Lalit Modi issue

New Delhi: The government on Wednesday said it was willing to discuss the Lalit Modi issue under an adjournment motion as demanded by the Congress in the Lok Sabha.

Credits: mid-day.com

When the house assembled in the morning, the Congress moved an adjournment motion on the issue. The government listed for the discussion to be taken up under rule 193, which does not entail voting.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is in the eye of a storm over her links to the former IPL chief said: “Please accept their adjournment motion. Suspend the business of the house and debate the issue. Let only members of the opposition speak led by the Leader of Congress in the house Mallikarjun Kharge.”

“But my only request is that when I reply they should all be present in the house to listen to me,” Swaraj said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu also said that the government was ready to discuss the matter under an adjournment motion.

Kharge, however, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be present in the house when the matter is discussed.

“We have given an adjournment motion and you have rejected it. But we want you to suspend all business and take it up. But the prime minister should be present in the house as he has to take action against his ministers,” he said.

The speaker said she was ready for the matter to be discussed under an adjournment motion, but after the question hour was over.

“I have disallowed it. But if everybody wants then this can be taken up. But according to procedure it can be taken up only after question hour.”

The Congress disagreed with this and insisted on suspension of question hour.

Following this, the Congress members returned to their slogan shouting near the speaker’s podium.

The BJP was on Tuesday set to return to power in its southern bastion Karnataka as its candidates crossed the half-way mark in vote count, stunning and ousting the ruling Congress and leaving the JD-S at the third spot.

Noisy celebrations broke out in party offices in Bengaluru, New Delhi and across Karnataka as Bharatiya Janata Party nominees were on the victory lap in 118 of the 222 constituencies which voted on Saturday.

This was a dramatic jump from the 40 seats the BJP won five years ago.

The Congress, desperate to retain power in the state amid shrinking appeal nationally, suffered major blows and was ahead only in 62 seats, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah trailing in both the constituencies he contested: Badami and Chamundeshwari.

The Congress leader was way behind G.T Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal-Secular in Chamundeshwari, Election Commission officials said. And after leading initially, Siddaramaiah fell behind B.R. Sriramulu of the BJP in Badami.

In contrast, the BJP’s Chief Ministerial face B.S. Yeddyurappa was ahead of his Congress rival by more than 11,000 votes in Shikaripura.

Energy Minister and Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar said that the numbers indicated that his party was on the way out after five years in power.

Any party or grouping will need 113 of the total 224 seats to secure a majority in the Assembly. Polling did not take place in two constituencies on Saturday.

The BJP was overjoyed. “We are in a jubilant mood because we have crossed the half-way mark. We are confident of winning,” spokesman S. Shantharam told IANS.

BJP activists and leaders celebrated noisily in both Bengaluru and New Delhi, waving party flags and shouting slogans hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their main vote-getter, and party President Amit Shah.

There were also celebrations outside the residence of Yeddyurappa, who has been Chief Minister earlier too.

Karnataka Polls counting suggests big win for BJP, wikimedia commons

The Janata Dal-Secular of former Prime Minister H.D. Dewe Gowda, which has been expected to play the role of a kingmaker in the event of a hung Assembly, was leading in 40 seats — the same number it won five years ago.

As the vote count progressed, BJP leaders became assertive, saying they were confident of taking power again in Karnataka while Congress leaders began to speak about the possibility of an alliance with the JD-S.

BJP leader and Union Minister Sadanand Gowda said that there was no question of any alliance.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar, who is in charge of Karnataka, met BJP President Amit Shah in New Delhi.

Analysts said the BJP was leading in Lingayat dominated seats and the JD-S in Vokkaliga dominated areas.

Expectations of a BJP victory in Karnataka lifted the key Indian equity indices during the mid-morning trade session on Tuesday.